Health and safety killjoys ban get-well cards in hospital ... because they clutter up wards

Tuesday 12 August 2008 20:42 BST

The "get well soon" card has long been accepted as a way of cheering up a loved one stuck in hospital.

John Nickolls sent one to his Aunt Edna as she recovered after a fall and expected to see it beside her bed when he visited.

To his surprise, however, there was no sign of it or of any other cards on the ward.

Diagnosed as clutter: John Nickolls with the card his aunt was told she couldn't have by her hospital bed

Diagnosed as clutter: John Nickolls with the card his aunt was told she couldn't have by her hospital bed

When he asked his elderly aunt why, she told him she had sent the card home because staff had forbidden her from putting it up by her bedside in order to keep the area free of clutter for the cleaners.

Mr Nickolls said: "We wanted to cheer her up and there aren't many things you can give to someone who is ill.

"I thought it was taking away something very important from someone who wasn't very well. If I was on a ward, I'd like to receive cards."

He had earlier been stopped by a senior nurse at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol from taking in flowers for his aunt because plants were banned "for health and danger reasons".

"We had never heard of this before and can only assume it is due to any bugs in the flowers or vases being knocked over," said Mr Nickolls, a 73-year-old retired fund-raiser from Brislington, near Bristol.

"We asked if they could be left in a dayroom or nurses' quarters but this was also rejected and they wouldn't dispose of them so the alternative was to bin them or bring them home."

Mr Nickolls added: "Frenchay is a wonderful hospital but it seems a shame people can't receive cards or flowers. They could maybe put the cards and flowers in an area away from the beds."

His aunt, who is in her nineties, is recovering at home in Bristol.

Hospital bosses said senior nurses would ask for cards to be moved if they were taking up too much space and said flowers were discouraged because they could clutter lockers and hamper cleaning.

But Kate Jopling, of Help The Aged, said: "Many older people find get well cards to be a reassuring and pleasant distraction from illness while in hospital.

"While we fully understand the paramount importance of keeping hospital wards clean and tidy we can't help wondering whether this isn't a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

'We would hope that with a bit of flexible thinking it would be possible to allow older people to recover with appropriate support from family and friends."

Richard Cottle, of North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Frenchay Hospital, said: "We don't prevent patients displaying get well cards on the wards.

"However, maintaining a clean environment and reducing infection is this trust's number one priority.

"It is particularly important that the area around the patient's bed is kept as clean as possible and is free of clutter so our cleaners can get complete access.

"Responsibility for cleanliness lies with the sister-in-charge on each ward and if they feel cards on display by a patient's bedside are getting in the way of domestic staff, they will ask them to be taken down.

"We hope this particular patient and their family understand the very good reasons why they were asked to do this."

Earlier this year, parents visiting Birmingham's Children's Hospital were advised to bring new soft toys in factory- sealed boxes to prevent the spread of superbugs.

The guidance stemmed from concerns that toy fabric is a breeding ground for MRSA and Clostridium difficile.